Online Christmas shopping trends unveiled

2011 looks set to be a record year for consumers buying their Christmas presents online, reports suggest. Author: David Howells

2011 looks set to be a record year for consumers buying their Christmas presents online, reports suggest.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday heralding the beginning of Christmas shopping online, many consumers have got in early, getting presents in the last of the retailers’ sales before January.

The trend has already hinted at a record breaking year, with more consumers going online and spending more than ever when they are there.

Research by IBM has found that the weekend’s retail activity grew by 24.3 per cent on last year’s figures, whilst overall spending grew by 39.3 per cent. Browsing habits also began to see a change, with more consumers than ever taking to their smartphones and tablets to shop online, with 15 per cent of traffic undertaken on a mobile device.

It is hoped the research will encourage many businesses looking at capitalising on the rising online spend to ensure they utilise a clear and easy online payment process to ensure consumers carry out the transaction all the way to the end.

ComScore’s chairman Gian Fulgoni told v3.co.uk of the results: “Despite some analysts’ predictions that the flurry of bricks-and-mortar retailers opening their doors early for Black Friday would pull dollars from online retail, we still saw a banner day for e-commerce.”

Adding, chief strategist for IBM’s smarter Commerce John Squire told tmcnet.com: “This momentum continued into Black Friday where the big winners were those retailers that delivered a smarter commerce experience with compelling, relevant deals that people could easily access from their channel of choice.”